


Below Freezing

by ephemeralstark



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Hypothermia, Irondad, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter is a Little Shit, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-22
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21523411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ephemeralstark/pseuds/ephemeralstark
Summary: Peter jumps into below freezing water to save a little girl, only to break his web shooters and damage his heater. With hypothermia settling in he decides it's a good idea to walk to Stark Tower, thankfully Karen is a snitch.
Comments: 12
Kudos: 523
Collections: The Best Irondad/Spiderson Fics, The Best Peter Parker Whump Fics, ellie marvel fics - read





	Below Freezing

**Author's Note:**

> this came about due to a prompt from @[euphoric-melancholyy](https://euphoric-melancholyy.tumblr.com)
> 
> thank you so much <3

Snowflakes swirled and danced through the air in hypnotic patterns while Peter swung through them between the buildings, feeling increasingly more and more thankful for the heater in his suit that kept his toes warm and stopped his fingers from growing stiff with the cold. He needed to remember to thank Mr. Stark next time he saw him. 

Peter hated the cold. 

He hadn't when he was younger, in fact, he used to build igloos and snowmen out on the street with his Uncle Ben for hours on end. He would be wrapped up in nothing more than a thick jacket and a woolly pair of gloves but he would never feel the cold and would stay out until Aunt May insisted he absolutely _had_ to go in and have dinner. 

After Uncle Ben died Peter stopped building snowmen, it wasn't as fun on his own and May always had to work late because suddenly there was only one person bringing in money and it wasn't enough. That and he was too cold. Even when he wrapped himself up in so many layers that he could barely move, he would find himself shivering and seeking out the nearest warm building. 

Peter was pulled from his mindless swinging and spiralling thoughts by a shriek that cut through the air. He instantly changed directions, making his way towards the noise and hoping that he wouldn't be too late to whatever was happening. 

Another shriek sounded and despite Peter’s heater he felt ice run through his veins. That had sounded almost… childlike? He hoped that it wasn't a kid in danger, but his gut feeling was telling him to move faster. 

It seemed as though the scream had come from the park ahead, which was good as it meant Peter was close by, but it also meant that he was going to have to travel the rest of the way on foot. He dropped to the ground and ran through the shoe trodden snow into the park, looking frantically for someone in distress. 

The park was mainly empty though. There was a small child holding onto a woman’s hands as she was taught how to ice skate on the frozen over pond, a couple sipping steaming drinks while walking hand in hand, and a dog walker rubbing their hands together for warmth between stick throws. 

Peter soon located the source of the scream as the little child wobbled on her skates and let out a deafening shriek. Relief flooded through him, removing all traces of icy panic from his veins, there were no children in trouble, everything was fine. It was just the just the kid being afraid of falling on the ice, that wasn't anything to concern himself with. 

“Hey, Karen, is there anything happening around here?” Peter asked, wondering if it would be alright to call it a day. May would be home in a few hours and he still had that chemistry project to finish off. 

“I’m not receiving any reports of trouble at present.” Karen informed him. 

Maybe it would be a good idea to head home, he’d been out a lot as Spider-Man lately despite promising Mr. Stark that he was getting plenty of rest, at least if he went home then Karen wouldn't be able to snitch on him again. 

“Thea! Oh God, help me! Someone please!” A woman screamed. 

The woman ice-skating with the kid. Except… Peter couldn't see a kid any more. 

Instead, he saw a gap in the ice and a panicking mother. Putting two and two together, he abandoned all thoughts of going home for a relaxing evening and sprinted towards the gap in the ice. 

“Thea! Thea, come back here baby, please,” the woman sobbed as she knelt on the ice and fished her arms in the water, trying to grab her child, “help me! I can’t get her, I can't swim and she never had lessons. Thea!” 

“Excuse me,” Peter said, running onto the ice, and gently pulling the mother back by the shoulders. The last thing he needed was two people drowning in freezing water. “I’ll get her, I promise, just stay back.”

The mother did as he asked which made him think that she knew of Spider-Man, without her to worry about Peter took her place by the hole and peered in, it was too dark to see anything. 

“Karen, does this thing have a torch?”

“Initiating Night Light function.” Karen announced. 

“Night light? Really, Mr. Stark?” Peter muttered as he peered into the water. 

He caught a flash of silver, possibly the girl’s skate reflecting the light back at him? He wasn't entirely sure but the clock was ticking on and he needed to get the kid out of the freezing water before it was too late. 

Throwing caution to the wind, Peter dived into the water, following the silver flash. 

The water was beyond cold, it was worse than he could have ever imagined, there weren't enough words and adjectives in the world to explain how brutally cold the water felt, but Peter pushed through it. He forced his muscles to move rather than freezing up, moving in the direction of the flash that he had seen which appeared to be the right move as his instinct to follow the silver was correct, and even better the girl was still conscious. 

She was trying her best to swim but obviously had no idea what direction to go and no skill to power her movements. 

Peter was on the clock, he had no time - or air - to offer her reassurances, instead he swam towards the girl and pulled her towards him so he could hold her close to his chest with one hand and use his other three limbs to swim back to the surface as quickly as possible. The girl panicked for a moment and kicked him, before realising that he was helping and ceasing her struggles. 

“Detecting core temperature drop.” Karen informed him as though that was news. 

If he wasn't at risk of inhaling water he would have snapped at her that ‘yeah his temperature was dropping, he was in freezing cold fucking water’. Thankfully Peter’s hand hit something solid, something other than water, and he realised he was at the surface. 

For a split second he panicked and thought that the hole had frozen over again, leaving him and the little girl trapped in an icy grave. 

_Oh shit, no, no, no, not again,_ Peter thought frantically, _I can't be trapped underwater again, Mr. Stark won’t save me this time._

Peter hit his hand against the ice in an attempt to break it, but the water stole all the strength behind the movement leaving him to claw uselessly at it. He was ready to give up hope when he saw a hand fishing around in the water less than a metre away. 

Peter moved over to the gap feeling overwhelmingly grateful that the kid’s mother had decided to keep searching in the water for her daughter rather than doing as he said and staying back. He pushed the kid towards the hands and felt her being pulled up and away from him. 

With the adrenaline of the save fading he realised how desperate he was for air, his lungs were burning and he wanted nothing more than to just breathe in. 

He hooked his hands over the ledge and heaved himself up, gasping for air, it made him choke slightly as the air came through with a little water that had clung to the surface of the mask. He could feel multiple hands all over his body, pulling at him and helping him get out of the water completely. 

Peter braced himself against the ground on his hands and knees, coughing and spluttering for a few minutes while his body shivered aggressively in an attempt to heat himself up.

“K-Karen,” he choked out. “Heater.”

“I’m afraid your heater has been severely compromised, the temperature of the water has caused it to shut down. I would recommend drying off and putting on something else.” Karen said. “Would you like me to call Mr. Stark?” 

“N-n-no.” Peter said through chattering teeth, he did need Mr. Stark but he was capable of walking to the tower. He didn't need to be saved all the time, how could he be taken seriously if he was constantly needing backup? 

He shrugged his way out the hands that were patting at him, afraid that they would try to pull off his mask to see if he was alright. 

After clambering to his feet, he made his way unsteadily in the vague direction of Stark Tower, or was it the Avengers tower now? He should ask Mr. Stark when he saw him because it wasn't clear any more, and why hadn't Mr. Stark gone through with the sale? After Peter had saved the plane and crashed his stuff? No. Crashed his plane and saved his stuff, mostly.

Peter’s brain felt as numb as his extremities.

He realised he was staggering an awful lot and was probably rousing suspicion from civilians, so he aimed a web at the nearest building. Nothing happened. 

“Kar’n?”

“Your web shooters have malfunctioned, the fluid appears to have frozen in the canister causing it to perforate.” Karen informed him. “Your speech sounds slurred, are you sure you don't want me to call Mr. Stark?”

“D-don't,” Peter said, “‘m fine. J-j-just walk.”

It turned out that walking was a great idea, one of the best ideas that had ever been idea’d… idea’red? Idea’ed? Thought of! Peter’s brain was starting to feel all warm and mushy, walking was great. 

“Kar’n? Walkin’ is g-great!” Peter declared. 

“You appear to experiencing some acute confusion, Peter, it seems you are suffering from hypothermia. Your core temperature is dangerously low.” 

“Y’ur d-d-dang-dange-” he couldn't say it so he decided to just cut to the chase, “low!” 

“Attempting to call, Mr. Stark.” Karen replied. 

“N-n-no!” Peter protested. “I’m w’rm now! I feel g-g-good. I sh’ld t-t-take m’ suit ‘ff.” 

“Do not take off your suit.” Karen said very quickly. 

“K-K’ren, y’ur t-t-too b’ssy.” Peter slurred. 

“Mr. Stark is on route, you need to keep the suit on and hold on for him.” Karen said, ignoring his insult. “He is less than a minute away.”

Peter blinked as her words set in. 

“B-but ‘m Sp’der-m’n.” He protested. “I d-don't need b’ckup.”

“You definitely need backup,” Mr. Stark said landing on the slushy pavement behind Peter. 

“Woah!” Peter said, his suit’s eyes widening comically, “Kar’n! That’s Ir’n Man. Hi Ir’n Man, I w’s cold but now I’m n’t. I stopp’d shakin’.”

“That’s not good, Underoos,” Mr. Stark said and Peter noticed that his voice sounded soft. 

“Misser Star’,” Peter slurred, “y’ur cott’n candy ‘nd fl’ffy clouds.”

“I’m sorry?” Mr. Stark asked before shaking his head, “you know what? Never mind, we need to get you home.”

“But, I don’ have red slippers ‘n a hot air b’lloon.” Peter said, confused as to how he was going to get home.

“Alright Dorothy,” Mr. Stark said, “come on, it’s time for Spider-Baby to learn how to fly.”

Peter was scooped up by Mr. Stark and pressed against his chest, held in place by two unmovable metal arms. They shot into the air causing Peter to laugh as though he was on a rollercoaster and not suffering from severe hypothermia. 

“Misser Star’, we’re flyin’,” Peter said excitedly through numb lips, “bu’, we’re flyin’ back!”

“I don’t want the wind chill to make things worse, especially at this speed. So, we’re going backwards” Mr. Stark informed him. 

“Misser Star’, the ligh’s are fairies.” Peter stated seriously as he stared down at the city below. There were so many lights and they were moving in and out of focus and dancing about. 

“Come on Kiddo, we’re almost there, stay with me now.” Mr. Stark said. 

Peter didn't respond, he was too busy wondering why his tongue felt so heavy in his mouth, and also why were tongues so weird? It seemed like it didn’t even fit in his mouth properly...oh no… what if it wasn't his tongue? Had someone stolen his and replaced it with an imposter tongue? 

He needed to tell Mr. Stark but the imposter tongue wasn't working right, more proof that it wasn't his one. Before he could worry any more about that he felt Mr. Stark slow down and turn so they were going forwards, Stark Tower loomed in front and Peter saw one of the windows opening for them to enter through. 

_Woah,_ Peter thought to himself, _that building is huge and just came from nowhere!_

The air inside was hot, too hot, it seemed to burn at Peter’s skin through the suit and he was struck by the very real terror that he was cooking inside the Spider-Man suit.

“No!” He screamed flailing so suddenly that Mr. Stark released him in shock, Peter’s legs were too numb to hold him up and he crumpled forward onto the plush carpet, water dripping from him onto it. 

“Peter, it’s alright,” Mr. Stark said, Peter could hear the metallic whirring and grinding of the suit retracting and in moments Mr. Stark was at him side, pulling him up into a sitting position.

“Too hot,” Peter slurred, “burnin’.”

“You’re actually too cold kiddo,” Mr. Stark said gently, “come on, we need to get you into something dry.”

Peter was pulled to his feet, most of his weight being supported by Mr. Stark, but the little he could bare himself was making his legs shake as they slowly made their way to Peter’s room. 

“Am I gonna shower?” Peter asked.

“No, not right now Underoos,” Mr. Stark said, “your temperature is too low for that.”

With a great deal of staggering and a few comments about Peter replicating Bambi’s first steps, they made it to his bedroom. 

“We need to get you in your jimmy jams, Kid,” Mr. Stark said, “now we’ll do this quickly because I know that if that brain of yours wasn't floating in La La Land you’d find this a tad humiliating.” 

“Where’s La La La La Land?” Peter asked. 

“Exactly.” Mr. Stark said as he pulled off Peter’s mask. 

“No!” Peter yelled. “They can’t know who I am!”

“Kid, calm down, it’s just us two here, your identity is safe.” Mr. Stark said soothingly as he pressed the spider emblem on the front of Peter’s suit causing it to go slack. “Your lips are blue and I’m too young to have grey hair so just work with me here, Pete.”

With a great deal of effort, Peter was finally sitting on the side of his bed wrapped in an abundance of fluffy towels while Mr. Stark rifled through his drawers looking for pyjamas.

“Which drawer are they in?” He asked. “A little help would be great here.”

“What if you put your hand in one drawer ‘n it came out a differen’ one?” Peter asked. 

“Ok, so you’re useless right now,” Mr. Stark muttered, as he continued to search. “Got them! Right kid, without your suit on I can’t monitor your temperature and the last reading was 90.8 degrees, which means it’s your lucky day. You get to wear my watch.”

Mr. Stark helped Peter clumsily thread his arms through his pyjama top and watched as he took the watch off his own wrist, fiddled with it, then strapped it onto Peter’s . 

“91.1.” Mr. Stark read, “ok, you’re improving, and don't even think of messing with that thing. I’ve disabled all the systems other than medical observations.”

“Come on, Underoos, let’s get these trousers on then we can both forget all about the last fifteen minutes.” Mr. Stark said. 

“Why ‘m I putting clothes on?” Peter asked, “‘m too hot.”

“No your cold and your brain is playing tricks on you,” Mr. Stark told him. “ Now let’s get you under those covers because you need to warm up and I don't think we’d manage to walk you anywhere else. Or maybe we would, but I’m not doing that again.”

It took another ten minutes but eventually Peter was in his bed, buried under a mound of blankets and Mr. Stark was sitting on the bed beside him, helping him drink a mug of hot chocolate and monitoring his temperature.

“91.6°F,” Mr. Stark declared. “See, we can do this.” 

“Why ‘m I here?” Peter asked. “Why not the hosp’tal?”

“I couldn't take you to a normal hospital thanks to that bizarre DNA you’ve got going on, and there isn't a medical team based in this tower, they’re generally only on standby when an Avengers mission is happening. Which means you got Dr. Stark.” 

“Huh,” Peter murmured, seemingly satisfied with the explanation. “Someone stole my tongue earlier but I think they gave it back.”

“Did they now?” Mr. Stark asked

“Uh huh.” 

Time passed with meaningless and delirious chatter, as Peter’s temperature continued to creep up. 

“Mr. Star’?” Peter asked suddenly. 

“Yeah Kiddo?” 

“I feel cold,” Peter murmured. “I don' like the cold.”

“That’s actually a good thing, it means your body is reacting correctly again, soon the shivering will start up once more and before you know it you’ll be a toasty spider.” Mr. Stark said. 

“But I don' like bein’ cold. Not since Uncle Ben died.” Peter said quietly. 

“What do you mean?” 

“It never bothered me ‘fore,” Peter explained, “but after Ben when it got cold outsi’, I got really, really cold.”

“Hey, Pete, I don't think it’s your Uncle’s death that caused that.” Mr. Stark said gently.

“No?”

“Spiders typically can’t thermoregulate, and if you have some spider traits then this could be one of them. I was wondering about it earlier, but with the temperature of that water anyone could have ended up with hypothermia so I didn't have proof that you can't thermoregulate. Now though, with that information, it seems fairly likely.”

“So, it’s not a punishm’nt?”

“Punishment? For what?” Mr. Stark asked sounding genuinely confused. 

“For letting Ben die.” Peter said quietly. 

“Kid, May told me what happened, that wasn't your fault.”

“I had my powers, I didn’ do anythin’.” Peter admitted. 

“You were a kid and none of that can be blamed on you whatsoever.” Mr. Stark said as he ran a hand through Peter’s hair comfortingly. “Powers or no powers, you were too young and you should never have been in that situation.”

Peter didn't reply, he was distracted by the trembling that seemed to overcome his entire body. Had Mr. Stark said that the shivering was a good sign? Because Peter was beginning to feel like it was the opposite. His teeth chattered and his muscles spasmed uncomfortably. 

“M-m-misser S-s-s-star’” Peter stammered, “It-t-t’s c-c-cold.”

“I know, I know,” Mr. Stark said as he checked the watch again, “93°F. This is good, Pete, I promise. No more winter swims though.”

“N-n-never.” Peter promised. 

“Good, Kid, god you did a great job saving that little girl, but I was so scared when I got the message from your AI. I didn't even realise how bad it was, and you weren't making any sense.” Mr. Stark admitted. “Just… just think of yourself as well as others in the future, alright?”

Peter nodded, his throat felt tight with tears at Mr. Stark’s honesty. 

“Also, you’re telling May about this one.” Mr. Stark said, still playing with Peter’s hair in a way that made his eyes grow heavy. 

Peter let out a shaky laugh. 

“T-t-thanks, Mr. Stark.” 

“Anytime, Underoos,” Mr. Stark said softly. “Just not anytime soon, please. Now why don’t you get some sleep? I’ll stay here and keep an eye on your temperature.”

Peter yawned, sleep did sound like a good idea. 

“N-night, Tony.” 

“G’night, Kiddo.”

**Author's Note:**

> i hope you enjoyed you can find me on tumblr @[ephemeralstark ](https://ephemeralstark.tumblr.com)
> 
> let me know what you thought and thank you for reading! :D


End file.
